First Fantastic Fest Titles Announced!

ZATHURA, THE BIG WHITE, MOONGIRL, THE DARK HOURS, CREEP,
WOLF CREEK AND MORE TO PREMIERE AT INAUGURAL FANTASTIC FEST
OCTOBER 6-9, 2005

Badges go on sale 5pm Friday, Sep. 9, at fantasticfest.com.

AUSTIN, TX, 8/30/05 – Director Jon Favreau’s ZATHURA starring Josh Hutcherson, Jonah Bobo, Dax Shepard, Kristen Stewart and Tim Robbins will debut at the inaugural Fantastic Fest along with the U.S. premiere of Mark Mylod’s THE BIG WHITE starring Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Woody Harrelson, Giovanni Ribisi, Alison Lohman, Tim Blake Nelson, and James Woods.  The fest will also unveil Henry Selick’s new animated short MOONGIRL and host the U.S. premieres of Paul Fox’s THE DARK HOURS and Christopher Smith’s CREEP starring Franka Potente, as well as a regional premiere of the acclaimed Australian horror film WOLF CREEK by Greg McLean.

Fantastic Fest is a new four-day international genre film festival devoted to sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and animation.  It was conceived by co-chairs Paul Alvarado-Dykstra and Tim McCanlies (The Iron Giant, Secondhand Lions), and is presented by the Alamo Drafthouse South under the direction of Tim League (“#1 Theater Doing It Right” - Entertainment Weekly).  They comprise a programming team that also includes Harry Knowles (Ain’t It Cool News), Matt Dentler (SXSW Film Festival) and Kier-La Janisse (Cinemuerte Film Festival).  Fantastic Fest is sponsored by Milkshake Media, Ain’t It Cool News and Jackson Walker.  (Additional films t.b.a. soon.)

ZATHURA, from Columbia Pictures, is based on The Polar Express and Jumanji author Chris Van Allsburg’s best-selling children’s sci-fi adventure.  Two squabbling brothers (Hutcherson, Bobo) are propelled into deepest, darkest space while playing a mysterious game found in the basement of their old house.  On their fantastic journey they are joined by a stranded astronaut (Shepard) and must survive meteor showers, hostile lizard-like aliens, a rocket-propelled robot run amok and an intergalactic spaceship battle as they race to reach the planet Zathura and finish the game – or else be trapped in outer space forever.

THE BIG WHITE [U.S. Premiere], from Ascendant Pictures, is about a destitute Alaskan travel agent (Williams) with a deranged wife (Hunter) who finds the answer to his financial problems in the form of a get-rich-quick scam involving a frozen body in the dumpster, which he tries to pass off as his long-lost brother for a life insurance claim.  Just a few things stand in his way – a determined insurance investigator, an irate sibling and two would be gangsters.

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MOONGIRL, from Laika Entertainment, is a charming fable which re-imagines lunar mythology through the ingenious mind of stop-motion animation master Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach) – who uses 3D computer animation for the first time in this spellbinding short.

Other short films include DOMOI – THE VOYAGE HOME [U.S. Premiere], an evocative medieval ghost story from Finnish director Toni Pykalaniemi; and HERMAN, THE LEGAL LABRADOR [Regional Premiere], an Australian animated comedy from director David Blumenstein about a canine criminal defense attorney.

Other features include:

THE DARK HOURS [U.S. Premiere], from Sienna Films, follows a young psychiatrist who simply wants to get away from it all, and heads to the country for a weekend with her husband and sister.  Once there, she’s confronted by a former patient (and brutal sex offender) who takes them hostage, forcing them to partake in a cruel and traumatic series of “games” designed to punish and reveal.

CREEP [U.S. Premiere], from Lions Gate Films, stars Franka Potente as a London party girl who hears that George Clooney’s in town, and decides to seek him out for some fun. Unfortunately, things don’t turn out as planned (thanks in no small part to a tad too much alcohol), and after failing to find a cab she finds herself waiting for the last subway of the night… only to nod off.  She wakes to find herself locked in a subway station that’s home to a sadistic, demonic creature.  And it’s hungry.

WOLF CREEK [Regional Premiere], from Dimension Films, was a hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, and follows three road-trippers deep into the Australian outback.  After a long, eventful journey, they finally arrive at Wolf Creek National Park to camp for the night, but the next morning wake to find their watches have stopped and the car won’t start.  Meanwhile, they notice strange lights headed straight towards them.

Additional programming will be announced soon at fantasticfest.com for the four-day, multi-screen festival, which will comprise a highly select slate of approximately twenty features (plus many shorts).

Only 400 badges total will be sold for this year’s Fantastic Fest, starting with a $180 V.I.P. package that goes on sale 5pm Friday, September 9, at fantasticfest.com and includes the Opening Night premiere (to be announced), party, full weekend pass and limited edition t-shirt and poster.  Any remaining badges will be sold a la carte starting Friday, September 16 for $125, and a very limited number of single tickets will be sold at the door for individual screenings, subject to seating availability.

For more information and updates, visit fantasticfest.com.